Vanguard Magazine

www.vanguardcanada.com JUNE/JULY 2022 21 INNOVATION and is fully tied into the necessary joint en- ablers (primarily close air support from com- bat aircraft and attack helicopters). And yet, they have failed miserably because the Rus- sian Army operates in individually vulnerable stovepipes under a centralized command- and-control structure that gives no room for initiative to be exercised at the lowest tactical level. Trust, the cornerstone of the leader-follower relationship, is non-existent in the Russian Army that invaded Ukraine. Thus, it comes as no surprise that morale, particularly among conscript soldiers, is poor. Without battle discipline, reinforced by non-commissioned officers (NCOs, aka corporals and sergeants), the soldiery be- comes a rudderless mob capable of the hor- rific atrocities already witnessed and prone to abysmal battlefield performance. Morale matters and morale is a product of institu- tional culture that, as Russia has demon- strated, is ignored at an army's peril. So What? In essence, should the call come, Canada's Army already has the habit of operating in combined arms groupings in order to field a small and effective field force in support of a coalition fight in a high-intensity 21st century conventional war setting. However (and it is a rather large however), weapons and the corresponding doctrine and train- ing need to be addressed to permit success on the 21st century conventional battlefield. First, the army should undertake an ac- celerated UAV program to examine tacti- cal UAV usage at low altitudes. They are today's machine guns. Given the low price point and rapidly evolving commercial vari- ants, it is time to invest in inexpensive UAVs, coupled with field experiments and related operational research to optimize their em- ployment at the lowest practical tactical level. This experimentation should incorpo- rate the development of countermeasures to mini-UAVs and loitering munitions. Second, Canada must shed its aversion to owning armed UAVs and loitering muni- tions and procure these weapon systems with the same sense of urgency as non- lethal reconnaissance UAVs. Third, the acquisition of fire-and-forget anti-armour weapons should be prioritized. Experience with the tactics, techniques and procedures associated with anti-armour weapons already exists; however, the latest tools have not been procured by the CAF. Fourth, there is the requirement to ac- quire precision-guided, long-range rocket systems tied into an ability to analyze HMCS Regina fires two Harpoon Surface to Surface missiles in the Pacific Range Facility Barking Sands in Exercise Rim of the Pacific (RIMPAC) 2020. Photo: MS Dan Bard, Canadian Forces A crewmember aboard HMCS WHITEHORSE launches the CU-175 PUMA to conduct sea surveillance during Operation CARIBBE on 25 February 2020. Photo: DND

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